暁と夜烏鳴けどこの岡の
木末の上はいまだ静けし
木末の上はいまだ静けし
- Roma-ji
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Akatoki to yogarasu nakedo kono oka no konure no ue wa imada shizukeshi
- English Translation
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"Now it is daybreak,"
so the night crows call, and yet
upon this hillside
all along the treetop boughs
everything is quiet still
- Meaning
- The night crows cry that it is dawn, yet on this hill the tops of the trees are still quiet.
- Commentary
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Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1263
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Occasional Poems"
The night crows cry that dawn has come, yet the treetops on this hill are still quiet. It is read as holding back a lover who is about to leave at the end of a night together, insisting that it is not yet dawn.
It is one of the occasional poems. It sets the crows' cry urging parting against the still-quiet treetops, expressing reluctance to part. It comes from the Old Poetry Collection. The poet is unknown.
The first line, "Now it is daybreak," gives the crows' message.
The second line, "so the night crows call, and yet," runs on with a concessive turn.
The third line, "upon this hillside," points to the hill before the speaker's eyes.
The fourth line refers to the tops of the trees.
The final line, "everything is quiet still," contrasts with the crows' cry in the second line and insists that the night is not yet over.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Ashihiki no yamatsubaki saku yatsuo koe shishi matsu kimi ga iwaizuma kamo
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Nishi no ichi ni tada hitori idete me narabezu kaiteshi kinu no akijikori kamo